Link Strummer
Aish Lincoln Kamil Tuli (born October 3, 2003) better known mononymously as Link Strummer, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer who is known by some for posting music and audio videos of his own music on YouTube. He has released one self-recorded self-titled album, and one studio EP since he began his career in 2015. Some of his most known songs are Bittersweet, Barriers, Deja Vu, Infatuation, ''and The Mr J Song''. He began singing at the age of five, and wrote his first original song when he was ten. He has collaborated with artists Spalooza (Illegal Love), Fresh Dominator (had beef with), Baby Doug (Avenue and Infatuation remix), and Mason J (Deja Vu). He is a member of the transgender specimen (FTM). In January 2018 he was signed to Spinnup, an independent record label. Strummer has recorded his music at multiple studios and has collaborated with famous producers such as Tony Maserati, Jesse String and blackbear. Life and Career Beginnings Link Strummer was born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario but later grew up in the town of Port Credit. He started to show great interest in singing during kindergarten. During elementary he would occasionally join choir (something he no longer does) and also demonstrated an interest in acting and theater. Since he was raised as a Christian he began writing songs with his dad about his faith and God. He started to write his first song in 2013 titled "Dear God" but finished it in 2014. Next he wrote "I'm Gonna Fly" all by himself. He never recorded Dear God but he recorded a demo of I'm Gonna Fly. He then wrote his third song called "Don't Walk Away". It was his first song fully recorded made in May 2014, when he was only in fifth grade. Don't Walk Away has not made its way to any album. He has had a passion for music since he was young and has always desired a singing career. His father seemed to have supported his dreams, because then his father contacted a record label producer, Danny Rubino, who is also the CEO of Girl Wonder, Inc. Rubino was a friend of Strummer's father and was impressed upon hearing him sing. This was back when Strummer was not out as transgender yet so therefore he was still a "she". Since he liked Strummer's sound, Rubino offered to introduce him to other artists, scouts, and producers in the music industry in hopes of getting him signed to a major label and debuting his singing career. However there was a consultation and demo fee that Strummer's father could not afford. Hence he lost his chance at fame due to the lack of payment. Nevertheless, he continued to write and work on his goals. He did not write his next song until he was eleven years old, after his dad's abandonment. Strummer's first song publicly available and watching on YouTube was The Mr J Song. The Mr J Song was written in June 2015 for his teacher in sixth grade as a "goodbye present" due to his teacher's departure. It is the eighth track of his self-titled album. School and Education - Elementary School - High School (not graduated yet) Projects and Discography 'Link Strummer (2016)' Shortly after writing The Mr J Song, Strummer decided to release his first album to test the waters and get used to the music industry. His first single from this album was Barriers, with an R&B sound to it. It was first posted on YouTube in December 2015, and in two hours it got 91 views, which is not much, considering the fact that he was not popular at that time. Strummer's second single, Tonight, is the second track from the album and has a dance pop sound to it. After releasing those two singles, Strummer increased the number of followers on Instagram (his first account) - it went from 27 to 103, which is sadly not much for even a 12 year old. He continued to work until May 2016 when he was in the middle of 7th grade. Finally at on May 27 he then released the self-titled album, Link Strummer. It was made with no record label. It includes two of the "major" singles, Barriers and Tonight, ''along with ''The Mr J Song. The album consists of eight original tracks, the Mr J Song's tune borrowed from the song Nothing Would Be Better. 'Deluxe Edition' But he wasn't finished working since he felt he could add more to his album. On November 6, 2016, Strummer released the deluxe edition of the Link Strummer Album. It consisted of three new tracks, one as himself as the featured artist. The bonus tracks are Avenue (featuring Baby Doug), Voodoo, and Fresh Dominator's Addicted To You. Avenue was released on October 19 and uploaded to soundcloud first. Then in November he uploaded his first music video, which was for Avenue. The song features rapping from Baby Doug, a close friend of his. 'Wilderness - EP (2017)' Shortly a few months after the release of his deluxe edition, Strummer started writing again. In December he ended things with a girl he was close friends with but at the same time were wheeling. They sort of dated. He ended up writing a song about her and in early February 2017 he released it. Thus Bittersweet was born. Bittersweet was his most popular song ever heard, thanks to his mediocre music video as well. As soon as he moved on from his ex flame he soon found another female subject who he wrote two songs about, one about lust, the other about rejection. He was working on this from January to May 2017. At the end of May he announced he would be releasing something he'd worked hard on. Then on June 16, 2017, Strummer released an EP, titled Wilderness, also with no record label. This is his first compilation recorded in a studio. This EP includes all the songs mentioned above, and a song called Roses as well as a pitch shifted accident "remix" of Bittersweet. His money increased due to the sales on this EP, much improved to his first album the year before. 'Infatuation (single)' After 8 months of no new music, Strummer decided to go back to writing again. Through January and February of 2018 he worked on a song due to inspiration. Something was going on with his life and something (someone) captured his attention. So he decided it was best to let out his emotions in a song. In the middle of March, he'd acknowledged he hadn't done music in a while due to himself needing a break because of his anxiety. He stated that he'd "returned" and revealed the album art for Infatuation. He posted the picture on Instagram, but his second account was deleted. Nevertheless, he returned with a THIRD account end of March and restarted his Instagram life again. He kept pushing the release date, though due to complications within his record label. Ultimately the song came on April 13, 2018. It was published to Youtube and Soundcloud. Although five days later it appeared on stores such as iTunes, Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, etc. This is his first release since he was signed to Spinnup a few months prior. The song is a seductive R&B track with a slow tempo. It features trap drums 808's and synths and light vocals in the background. It can be described as "relaxing" and Strummer said that it can get you "in the mood". Later in 2018 he received a lot of criticism over Infatuation. His Instagram was filled with hate from people who did not approve of his choice of words in the song. Many began to point out and accuse him of sexual innuendo in his lyrics. Lines such as "you got that red thing" and "ain't nobody do me like you do on this road" were flagged as potentially sexually inappropriate. However he denied putting anything with sexual intent in his song claiming it was an innocent song about confusion. Many fans believed it was sexual as well because Strummer recommended on social media "it's the perfect song to get in the mood to, if you know what I mean". This caused backlash and more questions from people although he continued to shut down any rumors. 'Remix' In April Strummer asked on his Instagram story if anyone would be down for a remix. In May he revealed the change in artwork as Baby Doug was appearing on the remix. On May 8 it surfaced the stores as well as YouTube and SoundCloud. 'Numb (Single)' The entire summer of 2018 Strummer spent writing and recording new music. However, none of these tracks were released, as he claimed he wasn't ready and his label not approving some tracks. Strummer recorded a break-up song called "Numb" in November 2018, and is scheduled to be released on January 18, 2018, approximately 9 months subsequent to Infatuation. It was originally supposed to be released in the beginning of December, but Spinnup reported "delays" so Numb was pushed to January 18. It is his first song using the autotune effect. It was produced by Kenny Roach and DG Productions and written by Strummer and Terence Henderson (his friend). Since January, Numb has received mostly positive reviews from critics, however many were quick to judge his new electropop sound. As usual, fans were quick to ask questions and speculate who the song could be about. But Strummer shut down any potential drama by revealing the real meaning of the song on Genius.com. He claims he wrote and dedicated this song to people who were in toxic relationships and they couldn't "let go" because they were too attached. 'Major Singles:' - Barriers (2015) - Bittersweet (2017) - Infatuation (2018) - Numb (2019) 'Music Videos' At the beginning of November of 2016, Strummer announced there would be a music video for Avenue. On November 17, 2016 it was finally posted on YouTube. In April 2017, 2 months after Bittersweet came out, Strummer released a music video for Bittersweet and in 2 hours it got 204 views, an improvement from his twelve year old self in 2015. By April 2018, one year later, it has surpassed over a thousand views, 1.5K be exact. Filmography Despite his singing career, Link Strummer also served as an actor. He has acted in multiple plays and musicals, especially within his elementary school. During his primary years before his singing career even started he starred on local Broadway plays within his community in Port Credit. He has not starred in any movies or TV shows yet. Public Image Although Link Strummer is not really known as much as a celebrity, he has certainly formed an image of himself within the past few years. During his first stages of his career he was not known by anyone that did not attend his middle school. He received a lot of backlash and hate when his first album dropped. However, when he released Bittersweet in 2017, his popularity increased by a lot. Word had spread about his music and many people within Toronto formed an opinion on him. He had gained many followers on social media over the years. Most of his fans come from the greater Toronto Area (GTA) but he has many fans in the US especially New Jersey, Oklahoma, Dallas, Buffalo, and St. Louis. When he came out publicly as transgender as 2017, surprisingly he became even more well known. He had stated that he thought people were going to hate him but ironically he received more support and more fans. Many of his fans are from the LGBT community, especially the transgender community. Through social media he has continued to express his support and love for the LGBT community and he has spoken up about their rights several times. However, he has blown up Twitter within the past year by expressing his somewhat negative opinions. He claims that since he is a Christian he is not open to "everything". He has said many times he only believed in "2 genders" and "3 sexualities", angering and upsetting some members of the LGBT community. He has engaged in Twitter wars with people he calls "SJWs" and has had his account taken down and temporarily banned for proclaimed "hate speech". His Instagram stories have been filled with statements about how there's only "2 genders" and he has stated he is a strong believer in science. Many users have called him out and reported him multiple times due to his "offensive beliefs". Hence, in the LGBT community Strummer has a somewhat negative image due to his thoughts and freedom of speech. He has been called a "bigot", "transphobic" "dumb Christian" and many other offensive slurs on social media. There have been protests on YouNow, Twitter, and Instagram stories about "taking Link Strummer down" and "ending him for good". The attempts failed because he is still active on social media. Aside from his LGBT drama, Strummer was once seen as an innocent child with a musical dream. But within the past year or two, from 2017 and so, his image has gradually changed. Once he was seen as a little kid who loved to sing but nowadays he is a proclaimed "sex symbol" with a lack of innocence. Strummer has been half-clothed in many of his pictures, and has become more mature and sexual in his music. He went from a little Christian kid who sang about God and faith to a teenager whose music serves as "thirst traps". He has obvious innuendo in some of his songs, including "Infatuation" which he received criticism for in 2018. Many have accused of him of singing about sexual activity and sexual desire despite him claiming to be a virgin. Fans on social media have debated over Link Strummer's virginity, arguing whether he is or not. Strummer has confirmed he is still indeed a virgin due to his Christian faith but many are still not having it. There have been many dating and hookup rumours, social media trolls claiming to have "hooked up" with him. Link Strummer has not been a heavy or serial dater but he has had his romantic history. From 2015 to 2016 he dated Olivia DeStefano, only to get back together briefly in 2018. They then broke up for the second time due to "irreconcilable differences". The first time they dated however, he did not confirm his relationship with her until long after they had broken up the first time. In January 2019, he was seen on a supposed date with a girl named "Jenna" (she is not known). People asked him questions about her and he claimed they went out a few times but they were not in a relationship, and that she apparently "hates him" now. Awards and Nominations None yet.